Weekend Rewind: I Keep Runnin’, Runnin’

Breakfast of champions.

I’ve hit the half way point of marathon training! Or at least that’s what I assume because this past weekend I was scheduled to run 13 miles, half of a marathon. I’m too scary/lazy to actually count the weeks—I’d be so disappointed if there’s still more than half the plan left to complete!

The lakefront is pretty picturesque at 6 am.

So anyway, in lieu of another long run by myself, I snagged a Groupon for the ZOOMA Women’s Half on Chicago’s South Side on Saturday. I appreciated the change of scenery, but I wasn’t crazy about the route. It was a half marathon and also a 10K, so the half people had to go by the start/finish line again at about the 6-mile mark, and that was a real mental beat down. Not to mention, they only had two water stations between miles 6 and 13. WTF?! Or maybe I was just dillusional by that point.

Ready… Set…

The good news is that I made it down there (quite a hike from my apartment, and it was Lollapalooza weekend), the weather was beautiful, and I finished. OK, I’m going to toot my own horn here for a minute: Not only did I finish, but I cut about 8 minutes off my half marathon time from last year! Woot! I was right on pace for what I’m hoping to run the full marathon at (9:30 per mile), though I can definitely tell I’m not ready for that yet.

20th in my age group? I’ll take it!

Now things get real serious: This weekend, I drop back to 10 miles, but then I up it to 15 the following Saturday. Anything above a half marathon just seems insane…